There’s a blank sheet of paper before me, <br />It’s as blank as our lives have become, <br />But nothing’s been said, though the passion is dead, <br />We still make believe we are one. <br />And the days seem to drift on forever <br />In this mist that I call ‘No Man’s Land, ’ <br />Whatever I say, you’ll be looking away <br />And you never reach out for my hand. <br /> <br />We eat all our meals in a silence <br />And pretend we enjoy it that way, <br />I reach for the newspaper, you for a book <br />So our eyes never meet in dismay. <br />Where there once was a ripple of laughter <br />As your foot rubbed inside of my leg, <br />Your lips are now pursed in a silence that’s cursed <br />And I feel that you want me to beg. <br /> <br />We shop, as if we are together, <br />And we smile when we see our old friends, <br />But friendship is rare, as our friends couldn’t bear <br />To watch as this partnership ends. <br />They can sense all that distance between us, <br />And note that our smiles are grim, <br />We never accept invitations, <br />Unless they’re for ‘her’ or for ‘him’. <br /> <br />Now you’re suddenly working long hours <br />At the bookshop, when you feel disposed, <br />Though I’ve wandered at night in the market, <br />And noticed, the bookshop is closed. <br />Then you wander back in about midnight, <br />And go on straight up to your room, <br />You’re taking your showers at the strangest of hours <br />While I sit downstairs in the gloom. <br /> <br />So now that I’ve put it on paper, <br />I shall leave this brief note by your bed, <br />It might shine a light on our silences, <br />The issues that should have been said. <br />I know you’ll be happier once I’ve gone <br />So I’m catching the midnight train, <br />I want you to know that I loved you once, <br />But that love has now turned, to pain!<br /><br />David Lewis Paget<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/parting-note/
